From One Second to the Next

Xzavier is paralyzed from the diaphragm down. In the accident, part of his spinal cord was dissipated. His legs are gone, and the use of his right hand is partial. He woke up actually from the coma a lefty and he went in a righty. X is on life support. The ventilator has to breathe for him.

He doesn't remember the accident as well as both his sister and his mom do. His sister was walking across the street with him on that October day. The driver who hit Xzavier was not only speeding in the school zone but she had also ran the stop sign because she was texting. The lady who hit X was texting. Her head was in her lap. She never even saw X in front of her. She actually came straight through the stop sign, there were no brake marks, no skid marks at all.

The Amish family was on their way at 8:00 in the morning. On the same road a van was driven by a young man from Bluffton, Chandler Gerber. He was on his way to a job and he was traveling about the speed limit. Police determined he was not speeding, just traveling along. He overtook the Amish and basically hit the Amish buggy from behind. As he was driving, Chandler was texting back and forth with his wife. He caused an accident that killed three people.

It was a Sunday night, Debbie had come out of her house to get her mail. By the big pine tree she was struck by a teenager texting and driving. Now she has no life really. Her balance is off, her arms don't work very well, she's got double vision, she cannot leave her yard. Debbie's hospital bills have amounted to over one million dollars. She received just $50,000 from the liability insurance carried by the teenage girl who struck her. The driver was sentenced to 30 days in jail. She also got 5 months of house arrest, 500 hours of community service and that's about it.

These are some of the stories that Werner Herzog portrayed in this It Can Wait documentary dedicated to horrors and victims of texting and driving.

25 Comments / User Reviews

The addiction to social media and many other marvels of the electronic age has very real dangers.
Not one of us is so important to the world around us that "it" can't wait until we're off the road out of our vehicles. My prayers to these and many other families that have paid the price for such irresponsible behavior.

How much prison time should a person get for safely texting while driving? If everything that resulted in an accident were outlawed, then everything would be outlawed and we would all be in prison. Throwing people in jail because they share a particular activity as a person who caused a car wreck is ignorant and unAmerican.

I'm shocked that this isn't already a criminal offense. It's worse than drunk driving, to text you're no longer in control of the car at all. How could anyone be so stupid, the only way to protect all drivers on the roads is to make it a criminal offense with tough prison terms.

I couldn't agree more. I think that anyone who causes an accident by texting while driving should receive a prison term, life if the person's inattention results in death or anything like what's described in the video. I also believe in harsh penalties such as huge fines and considerable jail time for anyone caught in the practice (even a first offense) irrespective of the occurrence of an accident.

bringmeredwine
- 08/26/2013 at 15:19

Was outraged but not surprised that the young lady responsible for the little boy's medical bills didn't have to pay for them the rest of her life.
The same in Debbie's case.
"The law is an ass." (Dickens)

Imightberiding
- 08/20/2013 at 09:27

I haven't watched this yet. Been away for awhile & a little busy with other pressing life issues. I have chosen a means of transportation as motorcycle only for the last 3 & 1/2 years. I won't go into the reasons why but as a result I have to be extremely aware of drivers (motorcyclists call them cagers) around me.

I can say from experience that the majority of drivers who have almost hit me, cut me off or worse have been first: young women/girls at the wheel more concerned about texting than driving, second; middle age to older men driving expensive automobiles (my suspicion is lawyers & ironically doctors) who again are busy with their phones.

My own doctor who happens to be a motorcyclist but does wish me to think of an alternative mode of transportation considering all my injuries/surgeries & the reason I see him on a regular basis, has suggested to me that as long as I insist on riding, I should arm myself with some sort of heavy impervious glove so that I can dent the cars that put me in danger & teach these other colleagues of his a lesson that hits their pocket books.

"What?" He says, "Are they gonna chase you after you punch a dent in their hood or door at a stop light?" "You're a biker. They're afraid of you!" This from my doctor who wants to ensure my safety on the road.

I'll tell you, I'm thinking seriously about it. There has to be something that stops & makes these idiots think about what they are doing while driving a two ton vehicle down the road whilst not paying attention. Maybe a few smashed windows, doors, fenders, trunks & hoods would indeed wake them up.

Now, I will watch this film. I confess that I am not eager & as @Johntechwriter said: "Too horrifying to watch. Too important to miss." This statement does not make me any more eager to watch the carnage that these selfish, thoughtless fools have caused.

Where I am from, if you are pulled over & charged with impaired driving, no accident involved, no damage done, just a check stop & are found guilty of being over .08 you will have your vehicle impounded. Lose your driver's liscence for a minimum of 1 year, have to take a course to regain your liscence which costs quite a bit. Maybe a thousand or two? Court costs. Lawyer's fees? Then deal with not being able to drive for a year or so & retest for your liscence when it's all done. Oh yeah, it will also get you a felony record.

These people from what I read of the introduction got off with less than a slap on the wrist after causing death & severe bodily harm to other innocent people.
Their driving was obviously impaired by what they were doing.

Have I mentioned how irate I get when people who have no business driving (who the hell should have a drivers liscence but can't parallel park?; not understand 4-way intersections?; turn right at a red light?; understand legal left turns onto a one way street?; or keep to the right except when passing?) or don't take the responsibility of driving seriously?

Head on a swivel - more apropos than ever, thanks to phones that suck anyway.

Johntechwriter
- 08/20/2013 at 05:25

Too horrifying to watch. Too important to miss.

Here in CA two-thirds of the populace talk or text while driving. When you're on the freeway check out the drivers around you -- how many are looking down rather than ahead. It's terrifying. As a cyclist my biggest fear is being struck from behind by a texter. And knowing that I might be paralyzed, but all they will get is a slap on the wrist.

You could not have said it better with the opening two sentences of your comment. Werner Herzog made a very powerful & extremely sad film on this one. My eyes will be red from crying for sometime after watching this doc.

Although I don't know the extent of punishment those two fellows in the film responsible for the deaths faced, it was very brave & good of them to allow themselves to be filmed for this important production. It is unfortunate that the teen girl & other woman responsible for the other horrific injuries did not come forward. You can see the healing that is taking place for the woman who lost her father as a result of the young man facing his responsibility for his part.

Perhaps if the women in question had the courage to take full responsibility, come forward & participate in a meaningful dialogue for their parts, that too would encourage healing for all those involved. Until such time, it cripples those who were the victims & their families all the more as they have no avenue for venting or forgiveness.

Very sad.

DigiWongaDude
- 08/17/2013 at 23:17

mmm...I don't drive. Period. I've had a couple of bad accidents I should not have walked away from. Who remembers the Winnebago guy who engaged cruise control to go put the kettle on in the back? He won his case I believe? Probably an urban legend though. Regardless, we send these hunks of metal hurtling down narrow lanes, more often than not with others travelling in the opposite direction, only a matter of inches apart. We do the same with planes (all that sky, yet they fly in tight corridors). But if that's not crazy enough, we throw pedestrians in to the mix, often on sidewalks right next to these hurtling masses. We build in to that mix, cellphones, car stereos and make-shift make-up mirrors. Perhaps we'll soon have specially angled 42" tv's built in to the car bonnets to help us keep our eyes facing forward? Oh how silly, we'll use Google glasses and have HUD windscreens. Doh!

Saw a young guy riding his bike down the sidewalk on a very busy main street texting with both hands, glued to his screen.
People have gone crazy here in Northern Ontario.
While driving if I look around at other drivers during traffic stops, I always see drivers their heads down most likely texting. I see people blabbing on their cell phones whizzing by. It is against the law here but nobody seems to care.

DigiWongaDude
- 08/26/2013 at 10:57

Scary stuff...I have a really stupid idea...these gadgets have accelerometers right? They know when they are in motion? Why do they just not work when going over walking speeds? Because it keeps the kids in the back of the car quiet? So ok, just disable the signal when the device is moving at speed? How hard could that be?

bringmeredwine
- 08/26/2013 at 15:14

What a good idea! Not stupid at all, Digi.
However,
Passengers would never go for this.
No one would want to disable the signal by choice; or would they?
Losing a licence doesn't prevent some drunks from driving any way.
Personally, I can't text while I'm walking, or walk and chew gum.
Just learned how to text because I've been staying at my camp away from a landline.
I really suck at it too!

megatron_mcdaniels
- 08/17/2013 at 21:20

I'm pretty sure the lizard people gave us texting so that we would microwave our genitals. I don't always text but when i do i text next to the jimmies.

The thing is that, these stupid people made a choice to be irresponsible with heavy machinery. They were trusted to use responsibly a thing that when misused can result in havoc. In deciding to do something so stupid they wrought havoc and pain. They need to be held responsible. Licenses need to be revoked. They should never be able to operate a motor vehicle again.

I understand that they didn't intend to cause the harm they did but the consequences of their actions were death and destruction and their punishment should be something on that scale of magnitude. People must be held accountable for the full extent of their actions.

unmake texting.. disable all the tech for smart phones
like when the switched from analog to digital, and analog tvs no longer work.....
only provide service for voice serice, phones no longer made with app tech, take away all touch screen **** for cars, all these new car stereos with pandora, bluetooth, gps ... really!

And make the people drive fast to keep concentrated on the driving and the road! Fast drivers are safer drivers, lol. That said... texting is not always a go go kids... Better think twice before you text: "I'm just around the corner..."